I just made these quickly out of a spare piece of polycotton fabric that I had, as I needed to
replace my old ones.
In the middle of doing these, the motor in my sewing-machine broke down completely. So,
I had to move the machine wheel by hand to finish them. I was going to anyway, but also
because of this, I will make this the last sewing project for quite a while. But this just
means that I'll be doing other things. With these aprons, I hope to be doing some cooking
in the not too distant future. Here's hoping :)
The basic measurements for these
pattern pieces are, (cms) -
Small rectangle -
1 piece x 27 across 23 down
Large rectangle -
1 piece x 60 across
60 down
Neck strap rectangle -
1 piece x 47 across
4 down
(to fold over
lengthways)
Waist strap rectangles -
2 pieces x 72 across
4 down
(to fold over
lengthways)
Then add
seam allowances -
2 cm - where the seam allowance
itself will be folded over
and then stitched down.
(edges)
1 cm - where the seam allowance
itself will lay flat.
(within the straps etc.)
Your own size
You can take your own measurements
from your body, to draw up the idea
of the basic pattern shapes in sizes that
fit you (scribbled on a piece of paper).
Then just add the seam allowances
around them.
Laying and marking the fabric
I laid the fabric (wrong side up) with
the long edge along the long edge of
my bed, and that gave me a good idea
of where to do the perpendicular lines
from, by eye (judging just with my
eyesight).
I then marked my pattern shapes
directly onto the fabric, with -
- a lead pencil
- a metre ruler (yardstick)
* Draw the lines on the wrong
side of the fabric.
Sewing the pieces together
*I hope that these directions are not too
confusing, and that you can work it
out ! It's the best I can do at the
moment.
Happy stitching, if you want to have a
go.
My tips are -
- A step at a time
- It doesn't need to be done in one
day,
you can take as long as you like.
I sewed the pieces in this way -
1. Edges folded over and stitched
on the small rectangle and the
large rectangle (3 sides of each).
2. Centred the small rectangle on the
large rectangle at their unsewn
edges, and pinned them together.
3. Zigzagged one end of each of the
waistband straps, then pinned each
on either side of the small rectangle
along the edge of the large rectangle,
overlapping the zigzagged edges
enough to go a bit over the stitched
seam allowance edges of the small
rectangle.
4. Stitched all these pieces together
along this line.
5. Zigzagged the seams together along
where the small rectangle meets the
large rectangle, Pressed the small
rectangle and the waistbands up from
the large rectangle.
6. Pressed the seam allowances of the
waistbands over, and the waistbands
as well. Pinned the waistband edges
together.
7. Stitched in one long line from the
end of one waistband, along that
waistband, in a rectangle to catch in
the end of the waistband to the
small rectangle, across the bottom
of the small rectangle, and the same
on the other side.
8. Pressed the lengthways seam
allowances over of the neckstrap
and the neckstrap as well . Pinned
the lengthways edges of the
neckstrap together, then stitched
them together. Zigzagged the ends
of the neckstrap together.
9. Stitched the ends of the neckstrap to
each top corner of the small
rectangle.
(c) Katherine Stuart 2014